Fortuna Verto

03-Obsidian Vault

Darkness had finally finished clouding the dusk of a brand new night. With night full upon them, Lyun and Yhzia began their approach to the Obsidian Halls.

An unfortunate side effect of taking a shuttle to a place that gets plenty of traffic was that the vehicle had proven to be too busy to even think within. Fortunately, it wasn't as if Yhzia had signed them up for a guided tour or anything, they would have time to themselves for the moment as they just looked around at their own pace. The Obsidian Halls, the place was practically a museum, a fact that became more obvious the longer you looked at it. The whole thing was simply a monument to the cultivation process of this otherwise dead world. There were even wings of the place dedicated strictly to that very idea. Such areas were even the more populated sides of the whole experience, something Lyun didn't feel was a high priority at this point. However, one of the most important parts of Ruixsi cultivation remained the exact feature that brought life to a dead world, the legacy of the Kyuemu and its foundation of the elements. For something that brought life to the world, it wasn't exactly the most lively area of the Halls, but she certainly would not complain about such details. The silence would give her an opportunity to think, the chance to figure out some new inspiration that would finally address her life's greatest concern, the acquisition of success and prosperity.

"Are you tired? Do you need a break first?" "No, just thinking. Sorry about that." "No problem, just let me know if you need a break, we can stop at any time." The blob that was Yhzia was just concerned about Lyun's actual nature. Lyun was an elf, after all, her slanted ears and the spiraled iris of her eyes giving such away. Being an elf implied that her own stamina wasn't as up to par with a human like Yhzia. Of course, Lyun also knew that her own senses were in turn far superior to Yhzia's, so there would be things the elf spots that the human misses. She generally suspected that their coats made it even harder for her human friend to see around her too, which then would make them lucky that no one had crashed into a lamp post or anything yet. Considering such, she quickened her pace into the facility of choice and took away some of her protective coat. It was really awkward that this side of the obsidian halls wasn't even in a shelter, leaving them to keep up their coats the whole time. Passing through the main gates, struggling against the stiff hinges that clearly haven't moved for a while, she found that the interior was actually even worse. All of the elements still felt very thin, all of them except one. The place was an obvious inferno, made worse in the heavy coat they wore. Sure, such a coat was actually capable of protecting them, giving slight protection against the heat, but was mostly there because of the other elements, somehow feeling even worse than outside in the exceptionally thin air.

"My word, why is it so hot here?" "It actually makes sense, the foundry for all Kyuemu was always in history forged in fire, baked in the most incredible heat. The intensity of heat forms some of the purest of shards." "So.. this place is some kind of smeltery?" "Either that, or it is trying to impress us with that type of experience." "Ah.. neat." "Wait, this was all your idea, didn't you do your research beforehand?" "This may have been just an impulse of an experience, if we're going to be honest about it. I may have just been quickly scanning for something that seemed like it would interest you in order to convince you of the idea. Besides, this is fun too, exploring new places gives some of the best kinds of thrills." Yhzia's honesty brought back Lyun's headache all of a sudden, realizing that the plan was to not plan. Sufficiently disorientated, but still taking the lead, it was a while more before the two realized that they had actually lost track of where they were. The place simply had no signs at all either, absolutely nothing anywhere to provide any form of guide or anything. Lyun pressed through another stiff black stone door, getting the impression that much of their circumstances was starting to feel uninviting.

"Hells, it's like they didn't want anyone here or something." "Wait, they didn't?" "Why would you ask me, you.. wait.. are you telling me that there is an actual chance we're not allowed to be here?" "Huh, never thought of that." Lyun couldn't even get angry, she didn't even bother asking Yhzia any questions about this whole idea, just going along for the ride herself. Blaming each of them equally for this, Lyun turned around and returned to the door behind them. However, from this side, she found herself unable to get the door open at all, even with Yhzia's help. Sure, she could have opened such a door with the right instruments, all stuff she had left back at the workshop. That would have been another mistake, going so unprepared like this. Of course, instrumentation was her strength, going with nothing was the most stupid thing she could have done. Well, she had one thing, she had her cell on hand, something she could use to call for help. Pulling it out though, she discovered the thing was completely unresponsive. Was something interfering with such an instrument that much? There wasn't the time to dwell on the idea, they needed an alternative somewhere before the heat became too much for them to bear.